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2017: Draft list | Standings | Leaders | Team batting | Team pitching |
Draft site: Kissimmee, Fla.
Regular-season champs: Margaritaville (106-54), Boulder (91-69), South Grand Prairie (78-82)
A Game 161 tiebreaker was played to determine the sixth seed, with Tatooine defeating Destin 3-2 in 11 innings to earn a playoff berth in its first season.World Series champs: Margaritaville defeated Boulder in six games as Kris Bryant hit five homers and drove in 11 and Jon Lester went 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA.Semifinals: No. 2 seed Boulder came back from a 3-1 series deficit to force a Game Seven, then came back from a 4-0 deficit to topple No. 3 seed South Grand Prairie 6-5 in 10 innings to advance. Top seed Margaritaville rode a strong bullpen performance to a six-game series win over Superior in a rematch of the 2016 World Series participants.First round: No. 6 seed Tatooine fell to third-seeded South Grand Prairie in six games. SGP won each of the first three games by one run, lost the next two, then took Game Six by a 2-1 score. The other first-round series was even more dramatic, as No. 5 seed Superior eliminated No. 4 seed Springfield in seven games, taking 13 innings to defeat the Isotopes in the clincher, 3-2.

2016: Draft list | Standings | Leaders | Team batting | Team pitching | Recap
Draft site: Kissimmee, Fla.
Regular-season champs: Superior (101-59), Springfield (94-67), New New York (95-66). A Game 161 tiebreaker was played between New New York and Springfield to determine No. 2 seed in the playoffs.
World Series champs: Superior def. Springfield in six games.
Semifinals: Superior def. Boulder in six games; Springfield def. New New York in seven games.
First round: Springfield def. South Grand Prairie in six games; Boulder def. Destin in five games.

1996:1996-draft-list | Standings | Leaders | Team batting | Team pitching
Draft site: Kissimmee, Fla. (Royal Palm Bay)
Regular-season champs: Michigan (92-68)
World Series champs: Applegate def. South Florida in five games.
Highlights: Third draft at Ken’s condo. First year where we switched to 1-9 draft order after 12 rounds, based on most remaining bid points. Softball game rained out for first time ever. Bismarck defeated Detroit 26-25 with an eight-run rally in the ninth inning of Game 160 in what is believed to be the highest-scoring game in league history.

1995: Standings | Leaders | Team batting | Team pitching
Draft site: Kissimmee, Fla. (Royal Palm Bay)
Regular-season champs: Port Charlotte (86-74)
World Series champs: Port Charlotte def. Detroit in seven games.
Highlights: Second draft at Ken’s condo. Jamie has Larry draft for him (finishes second). Ken and Steve Hart swap Barry Bonds for Albert Belle in the famous Hooters’ Trade. Watched replacement players in spring training games. Playoff teams beat non-playoff teams 12-11 in softball. Dave hosted midsummer Strat convention in Dallas, with Gary, Ken and Steve Hart attending. Eight teams were within eight games of first place with 20 games to play. Applegate loses a one-game playoff to the Drifters to extend its postseason absence to 11 years. Rick Neaton pilots the Port Charlotte Pirates to their second consecutive World Series championship but were not invited to return for the following season, due to repeated rules violations. Mike Hamilton replaced Neaton.

1994:1994-draft-list | Standings | Leaders | Team batting | Team pitching
Draft site: Kissimmee, Fla. (Royal Palm Bay)
Regular-season champs: Ansbach Angels (91-70), def. Port Charlotte in one-game playoff.
World Series champs: Port Charlotte def. Ansbach in six games.
Highlights: First year at Ken’s condo. Larry Pittman bows out of league on Feb. 28. Rick Neaton steps in at last minute. Mike Wilson bids 50 points for Barry Bonds, forgetting we had raised bidding pot to 100. Dave hands toll collector a $100 bill, thinking it was a “one.” (She called him back as he started to drive away.) Steve Hart clubs five homers in a 26-10 pasting of Ken Kuzdak’s softball squad. Joe Jansen attends draft, taking Jamie’s picks by phone. Detroit and Ansbach conduct a 14-player swap on April 28. Applegate’s Frank Thomas notches 30 homers (including a four-homer game in June) and 84 RBIs through 80 games, but Detroit’s Juan Gonzalez finishes with 61 homers to lead the league.

1993:1993-draft-list | Standings | Leaders | Team batting | Team pitching
Draft site: Redington Shores, Fla. (Angler’s Cove)
Regular-season champs: Tropical (88-72)
World Series champs: Tropical def. Hickory in seven games.
Highlights: Draft held during the infamous “Storm of the Century” but all nine managers attended. Bidding points were bumped up to 1,000 from 25. David Hart fell asleep in a locked bedroom and could not be rousted. Michigan and Applegate conducted a controversial in-draft trade of catchers. Tropical’s Mark Langston no-hits Detroit. Four managers (Ken, Jamie, Dave and Gary) attend the Midsummer Strat Convention and All-Star Extravaganza in Washington/Baltimore.

1990:1990-draft-list | Standings | Leaders | Team batting | Team pitching
Draft site: Reno, Nev.
Regular-season champs: Tropical (86-74)
World Series champs: Tropical def. Washington in seven games.
Highlights: Mike Schmidt anxd Nolan Ryan were voted I-75 League Player and Pitcher of the Decade (1980s). Six managers attend the “Desert Draft,” with Larry and the two Steves drafting by phone. Tightest race in league history saw top six teams within three games of first place with 20 games left to play; Tropical goes 14-6 in final month to surge to crown. Joe Santoro drops out of league, replaced by Mike Wilson.

1989:1989-draft-list | Standings | Leaders | Team batting | Team pitching
Draft site: Reddington Shores (Angler’s Cove)
Regular-season champs: Tropical (89-71)
World Series champs: Michigan def. Tropical in six games.
Highlights: Seven managers in attendance at draft. Marrieds and singles play to a 16-16 softball draw, called on account of darkness. 10th anniversary audio/photo slideshow shown on eve of draft. Fifty-plus phone calls to Reno and Brussels were placed during the draft to collect draft picks of Joe Santoro and Steve Hart. Tropical goes 6-14 in October but still hangs on to win regular-season crown.

1987:1987-draft-list | Standings | Leaders | Team batting | Team pitching
Draft site: Captiva Island, Fla. (Sunset Captiva)
Regular-season champs: Tropical (91-69)
World Series champs: Tropical def. Ansbach in four games.
Highlights: Mike Renbarger writes down Darrell Porter as a draft pick, leaves the room, and the pick is announced as Dave Parker. Marrieds beat Singles 16-9 in 10 innings. League votes to hold 1988 convention in Fort Wayne, Ind., by a 5-3 vote, then rescinds the decision after voters’ remorse. League considers proposals to expand to 10, 11 or 12 teams but votes to stay at nine and to return to Sunset Captvia for 1998 convention. Jamie and Ken run into each other — in a New York City subway. Tropical wins regular-season title when Ansbach forfeits three October victories for misapplication of injury rule, leaving Angels with 89 wins.

1986:1986-draft-list | Standings | Leaders | Team batting | Team pitching
Draft site: Fort Myers Beach, Fla. (Lani-Kai)
Regular-season champs: Detroit (89-71)
World Series champs: Detroit def. Washington in six games.
Highlights: Steve Hart wins George Brett in the first round on an eight-way rolloff. (Later trades Brett for Wade Boggs in a 10-player deal with Chicago after 40 games.) Dave’s Pickles are rescued from the trash bin at the Lani-Kai restaurant. Bachelors beat the Over-the-Hill gang 4-1 in the rain on Gary’s 3-run homer. Dispute over the tab at the Top ‘O The Mast restaurant following the draft. Washington’s Mark Gubicza no-hits Bismarck in May, with manager Larry Pittman intentionally walking Don Mattingly three times, including with one out in the ninth and nobody on in a 5-1 game. In July, Applegate’s Sid Fernandez no-hits Michigan. Gary and Dave embark on a summer baseball vacation that includes the All-Star Game in Houston, a flight to Detroit and a road trip to Chicago, St. Louis and Cincinnati.

1985:1985-draft-list | Standings | Leaders | Team batting | Team pitching
Draft site: Pine Island, Fla.
Regular-season champs: Ansbach (89-71)
World Series champs: Michigan def. Tropical in six games.
Highlights: In offseason, league decides to expand to 12 teams, but in the 11th hour, when Joe Brunetti unexpectedly pulls out, league reverts to nine teams. Joe Santoro and Buddy Taylor replace Brunetti and Jerry Yurko/Steve Crandall, but Jerry attends convention as a fan. Dave moves to Dallas in April. Taylor ousted after 40 games, replaced by Jamie Turner, who takes a 29-31 team and guides them to a a playoff berth, beating Washington in a one-game playoff to take fourth place.

1984:1984-draft-list | Standings | Leaders | Team batting | Team pitching
Draft site: Fort Myers, Fla. (The Vogue)
Regular-season champs: Applegate (92-68)
World Series champs: Vlasic def. Wiesbaden in seven games.
Highlights: All nine managers in attendance for first time in league history, at the third of three Vogue Drafts. Steve Bizek earns nickname “Patches,” for sunburn pattern on his legs. Post-draft dinner tradition at Duff’s upheld. Paperclips open season with 10-0 series vs. Michigan and 16-4 month; Dickie Thon hits eight triples in 20 games. Proceed to go wire-to-wire. Jerry Yurko resigns in midseason and Steve Crandall manages out on an interim basis.

1983:Draft | Standings | Leaders | Team batting | Team pitching
Draft site: Fort Myers, Fla. (The Vogue)
Regular-season champs: Mich/Vlasic (90-70)
World Series champs: Vlasic def. Michigan in seven games.
Highlights: Steve Bizek earns the nickname “Lumpy” when he lapses into a 13 1/2-hour coma on the sofa following an all-night birthday bash. The Sonny’s Barbecue tradition begins. In July, Applegate’s Len Barker has a no-hitter and a 2-0 lead against the Drifters with two outs in the bottom of the night, with Dave stooging; he rolls a 1-8 for a three-run Reggie Jackson homer and a Michigan win, sending Gary to the bedroom closet for a period of meditation following his 11th loss in 13 games of head-to-head play against his roomate. Vlasic’s Don Sutton no-hits Mennen in September. Michigan and Vlasic finish tied for first at 90-70. Washington starts the season 3-17, but fights tooth and nail to get to a Game 160 vs. Applegate; the winner would make the playoffs, loser would finish fifth. Washington prevails 7-6 as Ernesto Escarregga gets George Brett to ground out and snuff a ninth-inning Applegate rally, recorded for posterity on audio.

1981:Draft-list-1981 | Standings | Leaders | Team batting | Team pitching | Photos
Draft site: Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodge, Merchant’s Drive, Knoxville, Tenn.
Regular-season champs: Washington
World Series champs: Washington
Highlights: Adjoining hotel rooms (at $40 each) were procured for the first face-to-face league convention, which featured eight of the league’s nine managers. League votes 5-3 to abandon a previously-agreed-upon “Perfect Partial” redraft in favor of a total redraft, costing Bismark the chance to retain George Brett following his .390 year. Brett was won by Washington in a four-team rolloff. League voted for total redrafts in future years, 5-3. Absentee manager Joe Brunetti was represented by as stuffed version of him at the drafting table. Famous quote: “I didn’t come this far to re-use index cards.” — Steve Hart. Jerry Yurko’s lost keys surfaced in Larry Pittman’s pants pocket. Post-draft dinner held at Duff’s Smorgasbord.

1980:1980-draft-list | Standings | Leaders | Team batting | Team pitching
Draft site:
Regular-season champs: Washington
World Series champs: Ansbach def. Washington, seven games.
Highlights: League’s first draft is held by phone, connecting the offices of the Tampa Tribune with Ken Kuzdak’s kitchen in Detroit. Jamie Turner moderates the draft from Tampa. Hear Jamie’s audio recollection (bottom right of pag). First-round selections are Oscar Gamble (Applegate), Tom Seaver (Vlasic), Dave Winfield (Washington), Fred Lynn (Ansbach), David Palmer (Berlin), Bruce Sutter (Detroit), J.R. Richard (Mennen), Jim Kern (Bismarck) and Nolan Ryan (Michigan). League Constitution is created. Applegate’s Steve Comer hurls the league’s first no-hitter. Fledgling league flip-flops several times on important matters regarding playoff format, future draft format and managerial retention. A “Perfect Partial” draft format is decided upon for 1981 in which managers can choose to retain as few or as many players as they like, but for each player retained they would sit out a round of the draft (i.e., retain 7, join the draft in Round 8.)

Awesome. Did we really do all that? What will the next 30 years bring. Will we be the first league to draft from space, another planet or a comet? Helps to have an experienced man in space travel in the league Mike!

The managers predictions video is a hoot and the Ryan no-hitter video is downright historic. But nothing ever posted on the internet in the past or future will ever compare to that Bizek headstand video. I predict it will go viral and draw 1.6 billion hits in the next two weeks.

I didn’t think it was possible, but I now have even more respect for the great manager of the Bombers.

Many thanks to Gary for brining back all these great memories and delivering all of this tremendous content to the web site.